To enable us to purchase upon your arrival in Milan the public transportation pass that will allow you unlimited rides on buses and subway trains within the city limits, you must have already registered on the ATM (Azienda Trasporti Milanesi) website and purchased at your own expense (10 €) the electronic card on which the pass will be loaded. Please follow the detailed instructions below to purchase the card. This is a process that may take half an hour; therefore, it would be convenient for you to complete it during the days prior to your arrival in Milan, perhaps during stops on your air travel to Milan.

1) First, obtain an Italian tax code (codice fiscale). Note that this is not an official tax code but only the code that would be assigned to you should you apply for it as an Italian citizen or resident at the Italian Agenzia delle Entrate (the Italian IRS).
Go to codicefiscaleonline.com/ and fill out the form as in the image below (if you were not born in the United States please write in Italian your country of birth). Be careful that when writing dates numerically in Italy you put the day first, then the month and finally the year. In the “PROVINCIA” field, leave “EE.” Then click “Calcola il Codice Fiscale.”

The result should be a card similar to the one below. Save the card or copy the codice fiscale exactly.

2) Now go to https://areariservata.atm.it/acquista/nuovetessere. In the “Richiedi una nuova tessera” page, enter your date of birth (day/month/year) and then click the green button (“Inserisci data”).

3) A new menu will appear. Select the only option available (“GIOVANI UNDER 26”) and click the long green button (“Avanti”):

4) In the following page be sure to select the select the first option: “Nessun abbonamento 0.00 €”:

5) Fill out the new form as in the example below. Do not forget to open the “Indirizzo di domicilio” menu and to tick off the box at the bottom. The fields circled in red should be filled out exactly as in the example below. Be sure that you have chosen to pick up your card at one of the self-service printers in the subway stations (“La più veloce: ritiro alle stampanti…”). It is also very important that you enter your correct email address because that is where the message will be sent to you with the information and codes needed to print and pick up your card.

Click the green button (“Avanti”).

6) On the next page, upload a passport photo of yourself (preferably with a definition of 300 pixels/inch and a size of 600×600 pixels). To take a photo on the spot with your device’s camera, tick off the box “Accendi webcam” (when I tried it, it didn’t work). The result should be similar to the example below:

Click the green button (“Avanti”).

7) The new page (see below) asks for confirmation of the data entered by showing an image of your card. If everything is correct click the green button (“Vai al pagamento”).

8) Pay with your credit card or PayPal.

9) When you receive confirmation of the transaction by email, save the message to your cell phone or copy the information and codes received (all of them). You will need them to print and pick up your card at one of the self-service machines at Zara station.